The Commonwealth says it is ready to welcome back Gambia to the group, after it was suspended for preventing opposition politicians from operating effectively.

The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Don McKinnon, told the BBC that the Gambian government was expected to repeal the decree against its political opponents and now that it had is allowed to rejoin the Commonwealth.

He was speaking at the conclusion of a two-day meeting in London of Commonwealth foreign ministers, where it was also decided to end the suspension of Sierra Leone.

The ministers will meet in Nigeria later this week to discuss the current political violence over land in Zimbabwe.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service